Last Friday, around 40 delivery service drivers and union members at FAU Dresden
protested against the lousy working conditions at Flink. One of our members wasdismissed without notice in September - we brought an action for protectionagainst dismissal. The conciliation hearing before the Dresden Labor Court willtake place next Friday, November 25th. will take place and will be accompanied bya solidarity picnic at the court. The following article provides informationabout our approach as well as the background and experiences of delivery driversat Flink in Dresden. ---- Last Friday, members of FAU Dresden organized a rallynear the Flink camp on Prager Strasse. It is THE shopping mile in downtownDresden. Everything was parked with vans right in front of the Flink branch: theconstruction of the Christmas market was already in full swing.In speeches, various riders - as the riders are usually called - described theirexperiences at Flink. Deficiencies in occupational health and safety, timepressure, lack of transparency, irregularities in payments and shift plans andfinally unlawful dismissals were discussed. Riders from FAU Hannover had sent agreeting. Drivers of various other delivery and courier services also showedtheir solidarity on site. They came from Dresden, but also from elsewhere: Thisis how a member of the Lieferando Workers Collective from Berlin, an associationof Lieferando employees, spoke.We distributed flyers (see pictures) and were able to have many one-on-oneconversations with customers and passers-by. It was not uncommon for deliverydrivers to drop by by chance and only stay there for a short time because theywere at work. Some plan to come to court next Friday.The media interest was also pleasing - so "MDR Sachsen- Das Sachsenradio" invitedto the rally every half hour through the news. Whether Flink can expect such badpress again depends on how the company behaves now.FAST FIRES FASTER THAN YOU CAN RIDEThe company, which was only founded in 2020, is currently the largest third-partydelivery service in Europe. The principle: Bicycle couriers deliver, according toadvertising within 10 minutes, everyday items directly to consumers. "Likeshopping, only easier".There are also 3 Flink branches or warehouses in Dresden, called "hubs". We keephearing about massive violations of workers' rights. Our member Prince, whostudies engineering and water sciences in Dresden, started his work at Flink inJune 2021 as a working student. There were irregularities in wage payments rightfrom the start, they were often not paid in full and had to be requested later.Despite repeated requests from superiors, the colleague was not given access tohis payslips, which made it even more difficult to check the salary payments. In2021, Prince did not get any leave, part of which was not granted until spring2022. There were always problems with the digital timekeeping services ,sometimes they just couldn't be reached, sometimes blocked, so that the colleaguedid not see his assigned shifts and thus de facto had no access to his workplace.The superiors reacted slowly and often only in phrases to inquiries. "I will takecare of it!" and then silence. Whoever was "supervisor:r" at the time changedoften and was not transparent."In addition to the daily changing working conditions and regulations, it wasbecoming increasingly difficult to get in direct contact with those responsiblesuch as bosses or regional management." (Prince quote)In September, our member was injured in an accident at work and shortlythereafter was dismissed without notice."One day, while working with Flink, a special incident happened to me: I wassupposedly fired and taken out of their system without knowing it. I went througha lot of stress and uncertainty not knowing what was going on until they finallysent me a formal resignation letter." (Quote Prince)We then filed an action for protection against unfair dismissal against Flink atthe Dresden labor court. The termination without notice of our well-trained andlong-term colleague was not only illegal, but also humanly disrespectful. Insteadof giving reasons, the company simply cut off contact after the work accident anddidn't even ask about his well-being. We are now demanding in court at least anappropriate severance payment and the delivery of all payslips that were nevermade available to the colleague. In addition, we expect the settlement ofoutstanding holiday entitlements and, if applicable, outstanding salary paymentsas well as a proper reference. Our member and we represented ourselves in court,without a lawyer.LIKE WORK, ONLY SHITTERDresden Flink-Riders organized by us have to deal with so many grievances thatthey neither fit into a court case nor into a clear text:"As drivers at Flink, we have gotten used to the normal madness. With backpacksthat are much too heavy, we have to go out without proper work clothes, even incontinuous rain and storms, according to the motto 'delivery first, occupationalsafety second'. (quote anonymous)"In the beginning, working at Flink was actually quite ok, we were allowed totake a lot of leftover groceries with us and we had a good time together. Thenthe shock came: wages were not paid, the contractually agreed working hours wereno longer observed and masses of colleagues were fired from one day to the next.Since then, the inconsistencies have increased." (quote anonymous)Occupational safety is inadequate, including in extreme weather. The weight ofoverweight backpacks is not checked by default. Availabilities are often nottaken into account when allocating shifts. The break room is a closet withunhygienic furnishings. In the past, terminations were sometimes completelyinformal and without notice."The first big wave of layoffs made us nervous - who would be next if our friendsjust got fired overnight? Our colleagues were not properly or respectfullyterminated, only realizing it when they were no longer able to log into thesystem. In general, the rapid changes in digital tools, apps and contacts wereconfusing - often difficult to access payslips." (quote Prince)As is often the case in the gig economy, the operational risk is shifted to theemployees: if there are not enough orders, you simply have fewer hours and lessmoney. Contractually agreed hours are not adhered to, so that wage theft takesplace here on a huge scale. People who depend on a regular income are suddenlyonly paid a fraction of their salary or are thrown out completely informally."Not only did they suddenly stop giving us enough shifts to make a living, butthe volume and weight of orders we had to carry on our backs skyrocketed.[...]Westarted to attach the much too heavy bags in addition to the rucksacks in frontof our bikes and had to ride in heavy storms and rain. Sometimes our smartphonesgot wet, my phone got damaged and I didn't get any compensation because Icouldn't prove the cause on the spot." (Prince quote)RACISM USED CAPITALISTICALLYOverall, Flink takes advantage of the racism in our society: the company employsmany migrants and exploits their dependencies and specific vulnerabilities. Theyoften do not know German labor law, language barriers play a role. E-mails areoften in English, but laws that must be posted are only in German."I've often seen Flink insist that we don't know our rights. Laws that have to beposted were only posted in German, in the case of complaints, responsibilitiesare often unclear or the support 'answers' after two weeks with meaninglessphrases. Every month I have to recheck my payslip and correct it myself." (quoteanonymous)It seems as if Flink always tries to be bold or illegal first - it might work.Unfortunately, the company often gets away with it, because many colleagues areafraid to say something. For many, it is not just a matter of financialexistence: the residence permit in Germany often depends on the job. Also for thesake of our colleagues, our member decided that we would go to court."After having this experience with Flink, I realized that many foreign drivers indelivery companies struggle with similar situations. In my opinion, there shoulddefinitely be adequate protection, legal support and monitoring of workingconditions in such precarious jobs." (quote Prince)AN EXAMPLE IN COURTThe working conditions of the riders at Flink are examples of the precarious workin the brave new digital world of startups. Unfortunately, our court proceedingsare not about the major improvements for all workers, it is "only" aboutcompliance with existing labor law standards: bosses cannot simply do what theywant. Working hours have to be paid, we are also entitled to vacation as workingstudents and in mini-jobs, clear criteria have to be met for termination withoutnotice, and so on.We see our action against this specific termination in a broader context: We areonly suing for one person here, but we also want to support all riders who areexposed to such lousy working conditions. Flink is just one example of manysimilar companies whose business model only works as long as the workers do notfight back. However, this is increasingly changing - and this despite the factthat union organizing is very difficult under the existing conditions. Last year,wildcat drivers made the delivery company "Gorillas" sweat and made theheadlines. Companies like Lieferando are trying desperately to prevent theestablishment of works councils and to smash union organisations.The judicial route we are taking here is a strategy to claim the meager rightsthat labor movements have historically won. We won't let that be taken lightly.But it is much more important that we organize ourselves, in our companies andacross companies and sectors. That we take away the fear of saying no together bysupporting each other. Because together we can inform ourselves about our rights,claim them every day, and absorb ourselves in financial and personal crises. Weno longer have to put up with everything from the boss or the clerk. Because weare not satisfied with individual court cases, but rehearse a solidary,self-governing world in which there is no place for exploitation and domination."ARE YOU DRIVERS OR UNION?"We are a union in which wage earners (workers, HartzIV recipients, pupils,trainees, students, pensioners...) organize themselves. Bosses and the policestay outside. We come from different industries and backgrounds and support eachother in everyday life. Nobody gets paid for union work here.To illustrate the reciprocity, here are a few examples from our union work thathave been thrown together: A Hartz 4 recipient advises the teacher who has justbeen fired what tricks the job center has to watch out for. Self-employedcultural workers exchange ideas about what being ill means to them. Studentsstrike against sexist teaching content and collaborate with feminist workers.There is a list of trans-friendly doctors. The General Assembly votes to paycolleague X's ticket fine from jointly paid and administered union funds, so thatxier does not risk being thrown out of poverty and into jail. We ask FAUsyndicates in other cities if there are organized riders among them,It is important to us as a union that people speak for themselves and makedecisions about things that affect them. However, in some situations it can behelpful to be able to remain anonymous and let others speak for themselves.Media representatives are often irritated by this. "Are you from the drivers orfrom the union?" was asked frequently. It's a nonsensical question when thedrivers are in the union - and when they speak both for themselves and for theunion, which they shape themselves. It is a pity that unions and workers arethought of as separate from each other, but it is not surprising given how otherunions operate. In any case, it's different for us.Anyone who would like to accompany the conciliation hearing at the Dresden LaborCourt in solidarity is cordially invited to Hans-Oster-Straße 4, 01099 Dresden onFriday, November 25, 2022 from 1 p.m.The delivery start-ups have done their calculations without the drivers, who arebecoming better and better networked and also organized in unions. We areanything but helplessly at the mercy of these conditions.More and current information:Here, our fired colleague Prince and others share their Flink experiences:Working at Flink delivery service: Drivers report (04.11.22), in the Englishoriginal: Working at Flink delivery service: Riders' experiencesLike working, only shittier. Lawsuit against delivery service "Flink" aftertermination without notice (06.11.22), EN: Like working, only shittier. Lawsuitagainst delivery service "Flink" after termination without noticePress release: "Flink delivery service fires driver after accident at work - heis now suing with his union" (11/14/22)Website: https://dd.fau.orgTwitter: http://twitter.com/fau_dresdenFacebook: http://de.facebook.com/allgemeines.dresdenhttps://direkteaktion.org/lieferdienst-flink-feuert-gewerkschaftlich-organisierten-fahrer-erfahrungen-hintergruende-solidaritaet/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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